AARC Times June 2017 29

Realizing Our Potential

The Association continued to work

toward a 21st-century vision of

respiratory care in 2016.

2 016 A A R C A N N U A L R E P O R T :

AARC Times June 2017 29

2016 AARC Annual Report

30 AARC Times June 2017

Our health care system is demanding more and more from

clinicians. In 2016, the AARC took a series of carefully

measured steps to ensure the profession will be ready.

In the volatile world of health care in which we live today, the only sure thing is that there is no sure thing. Researchers are constantly coming up with new theories about the treatment of disease, and man-ufacturers are introducing more and more technologically driven solutions. Politi-cians continue to tweak medical benefi ts, and providers have no choice but to react, and react, and then react again.

In the midst of these developments, though, one premise comes shining through: to compete in the new era of health care, clinicians must work smarter, more cost effectively, and with greater at-tention to the way their care affects not just the immediate medical needs of their patients but their needs over time as well. Positioning the respiratory therapist to be

that kind of clinician has been at the top of the AARC’s agenda for a number of years now, and 2016 saw a continuation of those efforts.

“There are no guarantees for anyone in health care, and respiratory therapists are no exception,” says 2015–2016 AARC Presi-dent Frank Salvatore, MBA, RRT, FAARC. “In order to achieve a level playing fi eld with our colleagues in nursing and other disci-plines, we must be ready to make the disci-plined choices and decisions that must be made to maintain our professional role as the lung health experts.”

On the following pages, you will see how the AARC took the lead in this in-creasingly complex environment in 2016 and what that leadership means for our profession going forward.

2016 AARC Annual Report

AARC Times June 2017 31

all about

EDUCATION

More on education

Two new courses were added to AARC University in 2016. Clinician Training on Tobacco Dependence for Respiratory Therapists provides guidance for the

delivery of personalized, tailored tobacco-cessation interventions offered in a variety of environments for a range of patient types.

Congenital Heart Defects is designed to assist the clinician in performing patient assessments, gathering appropriate information, and using pertinent clinical information to make clinical decisions in the treatment of infants and children with congenital heart defects.

The Association’s popular live course, Pulmonary Disease Educator, was transferred to the online setting to give more therapists the chance to learn

the patient education skills they need to serve in expanded disease management roles in their facilities.

The long-awaited Neonatal-Pediatric Specialist Course was finalized. The 20 CRCE course is aimed at helping RTs understand more about the care of our smallest patients while also preparing them to sit for the Neonatal-Pediatric Specialist credentialing exam offered by the NBRC.

Like it or not, we live in a world of degree-creep, and nowhere is that more evident than in health care. Dis-ciplines like physical therapy and occupational therapy that previously had entry levels at the four-year degree level have slowly but surely upped the ante, so that some of them now require master’s de-grees or above to begin practice. Others, like nursing, are reserv-ing their best jobs for gradu-ates with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Respiratory therapists have long been educated at the asso-ciate’s degree level, and no one disputes the competency of RTs with that level of education

to handle the traditional duties of the therapist. To take on a larger role in patient education and disease man-agement, however, the profession must move beyond the associate’s degree, and the AARC took the lead in

making that happen in 2016.Early in the year, the Associa-

tion released a new RT Education Position Statement calling for all new respiratory care educational programs to award, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in respiratory care. The statement built on the Association’s earlier goal calling for 80% of respiratory therapists to either hold or be working toward a bachelor’s degree by the year 2020.

(continued on page 32)

UNIVERSITY

2016 AARC Annual Report

32 AARC Times June 2017

How much do AARC members value the continuing education provided to them by the Association? The answer is in the numbers:

More than 40,000 courses were purchased on the AARC University webpage in 2016, with about 25,000 in the free-for-members category.

Attendance at AARC webcasts topped 8,000.

Overall, 16,000 people took part in one or more AARC continuing education courses last year, up by more than 5,000 from 2015.

The Position Statement was quickly backed up

by the Commission on Accreditation for Re-spiratory Care, which announced a proposed

revision to its Accredi-tation Standards for Entry

into Respiratory Care Profes-sional Practice. The revision states

that all newly created RT educational programs must award baccalaureate degrees or higher. The standard is scheduled to go into effect in 2018.

Leaders deemed these moves to be a step in the right direction. “The time has come for our profession to advance its educational level,” 2015–2016 AARC Pres-ident Frank Salvatore, MBA, RRT, FAARC, was quoted as saying. “We’re faced with situations where state legis-latures and/or education departments are demanding fewer credit hours at the associate’s level. Respiratory therapists today need more clinical time in order to fully learn not only the advanced technologies we work with today but also to learn how to interact with our patients in ways that will be more meaningful toward educating

them about their disease, and even working on keeping them out of the hospital in the future. Less time in RT school does not achieve that.” Education Section Chair Ellen Becker, PhD, RRT-NPS, FAARC, agreed. While noting that “students who are enrolled in AS degree programs will have a wonderful start to their careers,” she empha-sized that “educators can no longer teach the increased number of required RT competencies in a two-year re-spiratory care program.”

Association leaders believe RTs educated at the bac-calaureate level will be able to assume an expanded set of responsibilities on the job and envision a new cre-dential to refl ect those enhanced responsibilities as well. To that end, initial steps were also taken toward the development of an advanced practice role for RTs, with leaders issuing a request for proposals early this year among academicians interested in researching the need for this role in the care of patients with cardiopul-monary disorders.

These developments, coupled with the Association’s ongoing commitment to serving the continuing edu-cation needs of its members, were front-burner issues throughout the year.

AARC Continuing Education: 2016 Recap

(continued from page 31)

AARC Times June 2017 33

Health care doesn’t occur in a vacuum, and neither does professional advocacy. For that reason the AARC maintains healthy relationships with scores of other groups and organizations, and in 2016 we saw a strengthening of those bonds.

A partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tips From Former SmokersTM

campaign that began in 2015 continued in 2016, with the Association pledging to bring the Tips message directly to its members. “We were honored when the CDC approached the AARC in late 2015, inviting us to partner with them in their 2016 Tips campaign,” said AARC Executive Director Thomas Kallstrom, MBA, RRT, FAARC. “We are at the front of the line providing patient care and self-management education, and we are in a key position to infl uence our patients and caregivers about the dangers of tobacco. Certainly the RT can play a powerful role in counseling these patients.” The campaign gained momentum among respiratory therapists throughout the year and now is continuing in 2017.

Likewise, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) COPD Learn More Breathe Better® campaign benefi ted from AARC involvement. As a Breathe Better Network Leadership Member, the Association has input into the program to help providers educate their patients about COPD and was proud to promote the resources available through the initiative to members.

Efforts like these paid off when the NHLBI decided to host a fi rst-ever town hall meeting aimed at developing a National COPD Action Plan mid-year. Frank Salvatore joined AARC House of Delegates Speaker-elect Keith Siegel, BS, RRT, CPFT, at the session, and together they made sure the

RT’s voice was heard. “It was an honor to represent the AARC along with President Salvatore at this historic meeting,” Siegel was quoted as saying. “This country has long needed a comprehensive national COPD policy, and the work that was done in Bethesda represents a giant step toward achieving that goal.”

When a draft of the action plan was released for comments in November, the AARC was again front and center, weighing in on the proposals from the RT’s perspective. Thanks to the groundwork laid by the AARC’s ongoing relationship with the NHLBI, the Association found itself in the enviable position of supporting much of what the plan delivered. “This document encompasses many facets where respiratory therapists will be crucial to its success,” said 2017–2018 AARC President Brian Walsh, PhD, RRT-NPS, RRT-ACCS, AE-C, RPFT, FAARC. “The value that respiratory therapists bring to this far-reaching endeavor is evident in our comments.”

PARTNERSHIPS pave the way

2016 AARC Annual Report

(continued on page 34)

2016 AARC Annual Report

38 AARC Times June 2017

2016 AnnualFINANCIAL REPORT

In February 2017, the AARC engaged the public ac-counting fi rm Salmon Sims Thomas and Associates to conduct an audit of its fi nancial operations. It issued an unqualifi ed opinion stating that the AARC’s fi nan-cial statements were presented fairly and conform to generally accepted accounting principles.

In 2016, the AARC’s total revenues (excluding in-vestments) were $9,932,669, and total expenses were $9,335,816. Figures 1 and 2 highlight the sources of last year’s revenues and expenses. Net assets at the end of 2016 were $24,935,823.

Convention and Meetings – 31%

Member Dues – 26%

Publications and Advertising – 17%

Grants – 8%

Education – 9%

Marketing – 1%

Other – 5%

General and Administrative – 42%

Publications and Advertising – 12%

Convention and Meetings – 14%

Grants – 4%

Member Services – 7%

Marketing – 6%

Contributions to State Societies – 5%

Education – 5%

Figure 1. Total Revenues in 2016 (Excluding Investments)

Figure 2. Total Expenses in 2016